Various types of methods and systems for conducting financial transactions exist in the prior art.
EP 1033688A1 (the “EP '688 Application”) discloses a method and system for managing transactions, which provides distributed services for use of a transaction card, such as a smart card, on board a ship when shipboard communications with a centralized host system are not available. The data representing current transaction information for the transaction cards of the ship personnel is stored in the distributed card management system database, and at regular intervals, when ship-to-shore communication is available, the land-based and shipboard databases are synchronized.
U.S. Pat. No. Re. 36,788 discloses a method of transferring funds from a first financial institution to a second financial institution using smart cards. The method includes linking a smart card to a first financial institution, debiting an account at the first financial institution and recording a corresponding credit value on the smart card. The credit can then be transferred to other smart cards, which in turn transfer their credit value to a second financial institution.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,008 discloses a system and architecture used to load a credit value on a smart card from a bank account, which can then be used to pay for goods and services purchased from merchants on-line using the Internet. The purchases are made using credit values stored on the smart card. The merchants receive payment from the bank account by way of information from a payment server.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,289,324 discloses a system for performing financial transactions using a smart card. The smart card has an electronic purse feature that is readable and modifiable as required by an external terminal. A preset value is stored on the smart card. As transactions occur, the stored value is reduced. Additionally, other functions can be authorized using the smart card such as stock transactions and fund transfers between accounts.
A review of the prior art shows that none of the references disclose a system utilizing a unitary account structure that allows financial transactions to occur in isolated economic environments based on actual and anticipatory funding.